Mine still shows October 2. I do seem to recall that a similar shifting of estimated delivery dates happened last time as well. Periodically the delivery dates fluctuated a bit for some people but then returned to what they were to begin with.

I think we can safely use ourselves as the source. I ordered the wi-fi w/o special offers about an hour after they put it up for sale, and my expected delivery date was (and still is) 10/10. The unit with special offers was at that time still expected to arrive on/around release day.

Had I realized that earlier, I would have ordered the one with special offers and just paid them the extra $20 later. Oh, well.

Probably true. I ordered the SO a day after they were announced and got Oct 2nd. I have Prime, and it might be that they are also favoring Prime members though I have no clue whether that is the case.

As to why the SO models first. I speculate it is because all KPW models are setup at the factory as the SO model, that is the software tells it to receive SOs. I said speculate because that is just an assumption. But if they are factory set to SO, then it requires Amazon to flip the software switch off for SO. Perhaps that extra step, if it is as speculated, causes the non-SO delay. Just a big fat guess on my part!

Probably true. I ordered the SO a day after they were announced and got Oct 2nd. I have Prime, and it might be that they are also favoring Prime members though I have no clue whether that is the case.

As to why the SO models first. I speculate it is because all KPW models are setup at the factory as the SO model, that is the software tells it to receive SOs. I said speculate because that is just an assumption. But if they are factory set to SO, then it requires Amazon to flip the software switch off for SO. Perhaps that extra step, if it is as speculated, causes the non-SO delay. Just a big fat guess on my part!

They flip the switch in your account, tied to your serial number. For the existing eink kindles (when ordered as a "gift" so they are not registered), they ship as non-SO, and start displaying ads shortly after you register them.

You can also test that with a FULL "factory reset" (back to new-in-box condition), by erasing the persistent user store (not USB drive) partition, where all your settings are stored.

The shipping of non-SO models first is (probably) just a non-technical policy decision. Perhaps to start generating SO ad revenue early in the shipping schedule?

They flip the switch in your account, tied to your serial number. For the existing eink kindles (when ordered as a "gift" so they are not registered), they ship as non-SO, and start displaying ads shortly after you register them.

You can also test that with a FULL "factory reset" (back to new-in-box condition), by erasing the persistent user store (not USB drive) partition, where all your settings are stored.

The shipping of non-SO models first is (probably) just a non-technical policy decision. Perhaps to start generating SO ad revenue early in the shipping schedule?

In that case there must be another reason why the SOs ship first. Maybe Amazon has some kind of agreement with the advertisers.